Shrewsbury school chief says mental health issues on the rise

Thursday

Dec 6, 2012 at 6:00 AM

Superintendent Joseph M. Sawyer said the school district is grappling with an increase in reported mental health issues.

He told school officials he wants to immediately hire two new paraprofessionals to address increased demand for student access to mental health services. School Committee Chairman Erin H. Canzano said, based on her interactions with school administrators, she believes the surge is directly linked to larger class sizes.

Mr. Sawyer told the School Committee last night that mental health problems are especially prevalent at the upper middle school and high school levels, but said help is also needed in kindergarten classes.

“Already this year, we have made several referrals directly to emergency mental health services,” Mr. Sawyer said. At previous meetings, Mr. Sawyer listed drug abuse, depression and anxiety among the mental health issues students face. While he couldn’t attribute any one cause to the problem, he said downturns in the economy often add strain to families across all spectrums.

Last night, he said the situation is dire enough that he is seeking to immediately add two paraprofessional positions to the current fiscal year budget .Mr. Sawyer said he hopes to absorb the cost of the positions through normal fluctuations in the budget cycle, but said cuts elsewhere in the budget may be needed.

Ms. Canzano said the issue came up at a recent meeting with middle school administrators. She said that in the past educators sometimes were able to identify and address issues through one-on-one interactions with students. But she said due to larger class sizes, educators are already strained and are referring mental health issues directly up to administrators.

School Committee member Jason F. Palitsch said administrators are overburdened trying to triage mental health issues. “They simply aren’t able to respond to emergency issues in the way that they want to,” he said.

Committee member B. Dale Magee asked if state or local resources are available to alleviate the burden on the school district. Mr. Sawyer said the district contracts with a psychiatrist at UMass Memorial Health Care system. He said the psychiatrist is attempting to connect families with support systems to which the school district doesn’t have access.

Mr. Sawyer said he is continuing to closely monitor the problem. He cautioned the committee that even if mental health issues only affect a small number of students, it has a ripple effect on the entire student body.